Blogs and Democracy

Lessig’s comments on free culture dealing with blogs and free speech via the internet was very interesting. I had never really considered the difference between news on television and news on the internet because when I search for news I generally go to one of the major channel’s websites and it’s the same thing you see on TV. However, there are many other types of news and information resources available over the internet, and these sources do have some advantages over TV. Mainstream media is profit-based and clearly biased. CNN, FOX, and NBC (among others) cater to their audiences and present news in an entertaining and interesting way that people will want to watch. On the other hand, internet bloggers and independent sources can give an almost unlimited number of perspectives on an event, allowing the viewer to form his or her own opinion based on the information rather than viewing the pre-fabricated opinion of a news network. While bloggers don’t have the same resources as professional reporters to do full investigative journalism, they offer perspectives that professionals simply cannot provide. Because bloggers are not motivated by profit, they can be much more liberal in their delivery and in the information that they present. Lessig compares bloggers to Olympic athletes, amateurs participating based on passion alone. He believes that this leads to a broad range of perspectives which lets readers “triangulate” to the truth. The most important facet of blogging is that there is no “gatekeeper” who controls the information that is presented. This allows more unlimited information and communication and is a proponent of democracy.